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Buyers' Guide: Keep the clunker or set it free?

She may have given you years of faithful service ... but it may be time to say farewell. Photo / NZME files

There comes a time in a motorist’s life when he or she is faced with a potential vehicle upgrade; the usual catalyst being an unforeseen vehicle incident or staring in the face of a substantially large repair bill.

But what if an ageing car has given years of trouble-free motoring, is enjoyable to drive, and is good on the gas?

This is a common scenario presented to the AA Motoring advice team, with the question, why change?

We often hear, “I’ve not spent a cent”, and to us this can simply mean a hefty service bill may be just around the corner.

Every vehicle with wear and tear items will require further maintenance above the regular oil and filter change at some stage of its life.

Take antifreeze for example, which has a scheduled replacement interval of 50,000km or after three years.

If this fluid stops getting changed once the vehicle is out of warranty, you can expect component corrosion due to fluid contamination or dilution. This can cause a major cooling system failure, typically at the start of that summer road trip.

For those who have kept on top of their annual servicing, you may have been rewarded with years of low repair costs.

The decision to buy a new car might not be so easy, because it hasn’t been triggered by a fault or problem as such.

Technology advancement never stops. While your vehicle has been ageing, safety features in the market have been reaching new levels with every new car released.

Refinement has also made driving easier with comfort, handling, and fuel economy constantly under the microscope.

It’s important to think about the vehicle technology advancements that have occurred since you last upgraded.

If you’re unsure about changing vehicles, remember that a host of new safety features have been introduced since you were last scouring the market.

These technologies help improve your driving experience, and increase occupant and pedestrian safety by minimising or preventing accidents.

The humble ABS Braking system has been enhanced by adding features such as Brake Assist (BA), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD).

Fluid-assisted power steering is pretty much a thing of the past with an electric system being added, paving the way for active lane monitoring or lane keep assists.

These features go towards minimising unsafe and unplanned lane changing or swerving. The extreme demonstration of these two technologies is evident in adaptive cruise control systems.

This is where the vehicle (depending on system type) takes on a semi-autonomous role where set following distances and active lane keeping are switched on and the car takes over acceleration, braking and steering.

You can find plenty of vehicle safety information online through various sources.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (Ancap) has published crash data for 590 passenger and light commercial vehicles sold in Australia and New Zealand.

Vehicles are awarded an Ancap safety rating from one to five stars indicating the level of safety they provide in the event of a crash and more recently, the safety features provided to prevent a crash. The more stars, the better the vehicle performed.

For second-hand vehicles there are Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR), which provide motorists with critical information about the protection of second-hand vehicles based on real-life crash data.

What body type?

What year?

What's your Budget?

Total Price

Per Week

Calculations are based on an interest rate of 10% per annum over a 3 year term with no deposit.
This budget tool is intended as a guide and starting point only and is not in any way a finance quotation. Please refer here for our site terms.

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